“But indeed I would rather have nothing but tea.”

“I had a little tea party,
This afternoon at three;
’Twas very small,
Three guests in all,
Just I, myself, and me.

“Myself ate up the sandwiches,

 

 

 

 

While I drank up the tea,

’Twas also I Who ate the pie

 

 

 

 

And passed the cake to me.” — Jessica Nelson North

 

 

 

 

A couple of months ago, I was visiting my sister and cousins, and they gave me a tea party. We had cucumber sandwiches (because, what is a tea party without cucumber sandwiches?), lemon berry scones, tarts, and, of course, tea.

The cucumber sandwiches were on freshly made bread. The lemon scones were filled with a mix of blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries, turning them pretty, marbled pink and purple colors. The crusts for the tarts were cut with a flower-shaped cutter, giving them adorable scalloped edges. Half of them were mint chocolate custard with whipped cream, the others were savory onion. I don’t know what the name of the tea was, but I believe it contained lavender. It was accompanied by creamer and sugar bowl. We partook from my aunt’s lovely tea service.

A pretty teapot

Lemon berry scones

Chocolate tarts, onion tarts

Cucumber sandwiches

A delightful spread

“But indeed I would rather have nothing but tea.”

“The solemn procession, …

of tea-board, urn, …

and cake-bearers”

Quotations: Poem “Three Guests” by Jessica Nelson North, first published 1912 in St. Nicholas: An Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks. Title (“nothing but tea”) from Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, chapter 19. “The solemn procession” quotation from the same novel, chapter 34.